egner



(Nb Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 1.

P. EGNER. APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS. No. 368,882. Patented Aug. 23, 1-887.

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

P. EGNER.

APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING GAS.

No. 368,882. Patented Aug. 23, 1887.

09 CZ a? In renfw r N. PETERS Phnlo'ulhngnphan Wnhinmon D. (I-

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

R GNER, APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMINATING'GAS.

No.368,88Z. 'PaQtentedAug,23,1887.

4 Shets-8heet 4.

(No Model.)

P. EGNER.

APPARATUS FORITHE MANUFACTURE OF IL'LUMINATING GAS. No. 368,882.

Patented Aug. 23, 1887.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FREDERIO EGN ER, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN P. KEISER, OF SAME PLACE.

APPARATUS FOR THE. MANUFACTURE OF ILLUMI NATING GAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,882, dated August 23, 1887;

Application filed April 26, 1886.

To all whom, it may concern.-

Serial No.200,228. (N model.)

pecially in that granted me September 15,

Beitknown that I, FREDERIO EGNER, aciti- 1885, and numbered 326,488; but while the zen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, generator is the same in construction and opin the State of Missouri, have invented a cereration, which may also be said of the bench tain new and useful Apparatus for the Manuitself, the addition of the carburetor and the 5 5 facture of Illuminating-Gas, of whichthe folplacing of the exhaust or exhausts-into a diflowing is such a full, clear, and exact descripferent position, as well as the changing of the tion as will enable others skilled in the art to inlet and outlet openings of the retorts and make and use the same, when taken in confixing-chambers of the bench, cause the whole nection with the accompanying drawings, in to be far more efficient in all respects for the whichpurposes designed.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the whole appa- Themanner of operatingis as follows: When ratus. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, starting the apparatus, a quantity of shavings, showing all except the exhausts. Fig. 3 is a pieces of wood, and coke is fired in the gen I 5 rear elevation of the apparatus, excepting the erator. Gradually fill up the generatorthrough exhausts, the proper positionof' which in the hopper h with coke until the fuel has reached combination is only indicated in the plan. a depth of about four feet and is inan incanview, Fig. 1, where itsproper place is plainly descent state throughout. During that time shown. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal vertical secfthe exhauster is not used, and all the products 20 tion taken through the whole apparatus, showof combustion escape through the vent V. ing the pipes connecting the different parts of This time is about four hours, sometimes six the apparatus. hours; but that is only done once. The ap- Like letters refer to like portions of the apparatus may be operated continuously for paratus in all the figures. years afterward, and the vent V is not used 2 5 G is a generator, provided with door D,fuelagain. It is onlyin the first heating up of the 7 5 hopper h, and vent or safety valve V. The apparatus that that is used; or, if the appa- I gas that is generated in G is a combination of ratus were let down, the fire let go out, and a coal-gas, {carbonic oxide, free hydrogen, unnew fire started, then the vent V is used, as combined nitrogen, ammonia, and some car stated. It is not used every hour or day; but

30 bonic acid. This generator and its general it is onlyonce in the period of its existence, or operation are more particularly described in once in a season, that any useless products of my Patents Nos. 315,751, 326,488, and 331,621. combustion are generated, to be let escape O is a carburetor of any convenient form, through vent V. Besides coke, anthracite preferably one. which permits the gases genercoal, charcoal, cannel or bituminous coal may v35 ated in Gto be drawn through liquid carbobe used in the generator. During this first naceousmaterial, the depth of which may be heating the valves on the carburetor C, Fig. 2, regulated at will by any convenient appliare kept closed. At sometime beforethis the ance. bench B is to be heated up in the usual way.

B is a bench of retorts, which is more par- 1n the drawings the bench is represented with ac ticularly described in Patent No. 331,621 and an ordinary bench-furnace for convenience o granted to me December 1, 1885, but with a sake; but I prefer and would recommend some differently-arranged system of inlet and outlet kind of regenerative furnace, which would be pipes. far more economical in fuel, require less labor H is a hydraulic main of any convenient to attend, and give a more intense and even 45 form; but I prefer .to use and recommend heat. Any gas-engineer can arrange works Isbells patent hydraulic main, No. 311,585, on these plans to suit his particular location granted to (1W. Isbell, February 3, 1885. and accommodate the whole combination, as

As previously stated, the construction and opmay be found suitable; but it is necessary that eration of the generator are shown and partly the regular order of the various portions of' 0 described in my Patent No. 315,751, but esappara-tus be maintained, as herein set forth. roo

After the bench has been heated ready for work and the generator the same,the hydraulic main is filled through any suitable opening therein, (not shown,) and a small stream of water allowed to pass through continuously to make up for any loss of evaporation by reason of the hot gases passing through the carburetor Othrough pipes which it was not deemed necessary to show. Thelevel of theliquid hydrocarbon in the carburetor C may be maintained by a constant feed in any convenient form. 'Iheliquid hydrocarbon may be naphtha, crude petroleum, or the oil distilled from coal tar; and, indeed, it was found by practice that the latter oils acted very well, and were ab sorbed and carried by the generator-gas in a higher degree than had been expected. All beingin readiness, lids are put before the mouth-pieces of retorts N Nand fixing-chambers M M M M, Figs. 1, 2, and 3. The retorts N N are previously filled with unslaked lime. The ventV on the generator is closed, likewise door D, which was open while G was being heated. Valves F E, Fig. 2, are now opened, and a little steam turned on through S, Figs. 1 and 3,which represents a steam-pipe from any convenient boiler, which steam should be previously superheated, which may be done by the waste heat from the benchfiues. The exhauster is then started and run so as to maintain a constant vacuum, equal to about two-tenths of an inch of water, on the generator. After the exhauster has been started the door D is again opened and left open. Usually it is left open so that a sheet of paper might be passed between it and its frame-a very slight opening; but it may be fully opened in order to draw ashes from the generator grate or ash-pit. The depth of fuel in the generator is maintained by dropping periodically a charge of fuel through valve and hopper h. Any kind of coal may be used; but bituminous is preferred andrecommended. The cokeformed bybituminous coals in the generator may be broken by using a long bent rod from the bottom and thrusting upward, or by means of openings S S, left in the crown of the generator and covered with suitable air-tight caps.

After the exhauster has been started there will be a constant indraft of air at D, which will cause combustion in the generator, and the gases of combustion, together with the continuous supply of superheated steam passing up through the heated fuel above, are decomposed and again recomposedinto carbonic oxide and free hydrogen and nitrogen. The amount of the latter gas is much smaller than would be generally supposed, as far less atmospheric air is required in this process of manufacturing gas than has heretofore been thought would be needed. The gas thus generated passes through the pipes (plainly shown) in the direction of the arrows, first through the carburetor, whence it is forced through the retorts, 8m, under pressure, the

object being to prevent air being drawn in by the action of the exhauster, were that apparatus placed at Out, Figs. 1 and 2. What is meant by the expression prevent air being drawn in, &c., will be explained hereinafter. The gas, after leaving the exhauster, passes through the fixing-chambers at M M, Fig. 2, through these to the back of the bench, Fig. 3,down into the lime-retorts NN,through these again to the front of the bench, Fig. 2, and up through the ascension-pipes to thehydraulic main H onto the usual purifying apparatus. The course of thegas through the bench is more plainly shown in Fig. 4.

In operating this apparatus Ido not confine myself to the use of horizontal retorts, as shown, but may use vertical retorts set in the same way as bone-black kilns of sugar-refineries; but I prefer and recommend the bench, as shown in the drawings, in combination with the other parts of the apparatus; but whether horizontal or vertical retorts be used, the sequence of apparatus must be as herein expressly described. The fixingchambers used and their advantages over ordinary retorts are stated and described in my' Patent No. 331,621. Carburetors, in connection with water gas generators and retortbenches, have been used before, and are described in Patents Nos. 142,289 and 212,943, and others; but in these cases a secondary gasholder is employed. The water-gas is made in an apparatus itself operated entirely different from mine, and not so much in construction, though that differs slightly; but its operating principle is diametrically different from mine, as I have pointed out in my Patent No. 326,486. The watergas thus made is first stored in a holder before being carbureted. That is not needed in my process; and a further advantage of my mode of working the gas is, that the hot water-gas coming direct from the generator is able to take up heavier oilsviz., tar-oilsifdesired, than ifit had been first cooled. My process also differs from others in that it is a continuous process in itself. It is not made so by two or more sets of apparatus being operated intermittently, though in succession, as in Patent No. 172,707; but it is continuous in itself singly. That part of my system has been fully described in my previous patents, and is not claimed as new here. Using lime in retorts is not new, and I do not claim that. I may, indeed, use other material than lime in the retorts-as, for instance, rich clay. I

The exhauster used may be of any kind. I prefer a steamjet; but a rotary could also be used. In my Patents Nos. 326,488 and 331,621 I show the exhauster at the end of the system after the gas has passed from the generator and retorts and fixing chambers; but in this apparatus the exhauster is placed directly after the gas from the generator has passed the carburetor. In the first instances I work with a vacuum on all the apparatus. If there happens to be a leakin the retorts or fixingchambers, I would draw in air,which is undesirable; but in this apparatus, after the generator-gas has passed the carburetor and is charged withoil-vapors, the exhauster forces it through the fixing-chambers and retorts; hencedrawing in air is entirely avoided and a leak is quickly discovered. It is therefore very important that the exhauster should be placed just where it is, between the carburetor and the bench. The eXhauster causes a vacuum back of it. The object of that is, first, to cause an indraft of air into the generator, the amount of which is so regulated by the greater or less amountof vacuum that only enough air enters to cause intense combustion in the generator, which combustion takes place about ten inches above the grate-bars. The resultant gases,by being pressed through more carbon in a heated state, are reconverted to useful gases, and the heat generated serves to keep this carbon hot and to distill the coal, which is fed from time to time, as needed, into the generator. The amount of air is farless than one would suppose. Thus far it (the air) has done no harm, because it could be partly (except the nitrogen) reconverted to useful gases; but were air drawn also through joints of mouth-pieces, cracks in retorts, &c., it would seriously affect the illuminating power of the ble material at frequent intervals, supplying steam and air continuously to theincan descent fuel in the generator, drawing off from the generator the gaseous products of combustion and decomposition directly to a carburetor by means of an exhauster and mixer, and forcing the mixed gases through a bench of fixing chambers and retorts containing lime and a hydraulic main, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

FREDERIG EGNER.

In presence of- SAML. KNIGHT, BENJN. A. KNIGHT. 

